Description

Devotion to the Infant of Prague

“The more you honour Me, the more I will bless you”

History of the Infant Jesus of Prague
By Anders Wong

Introduction

 The devotion to the Holy Child Jesus has long been a tradition of the Catholic Church 
for a very long time. This devotion is a veneration of our Lord's sacred Infancy. Many 
saints had a very strong devotion to the Divine Child, notably St. Therese of the Child 
Jesus, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Teresa of Avila.

Prague is the capitol city of the Czech Republic, which is at the very central of Europe 
with Germany, Poland, Russia and Austria as its neighbours. The history of the Infant 
Jesus of Prague started in the 17th century when a statue of the Infant Jesus was 
brought into Bohemia (now Czech Republic) and eventually was given to the Discalced 
Carmelites in Prague. Since then, the statue has remained in Prague and has drawn 
many devotees worldwide to go and honor the Holy Child. Many graces, blessings, 
favors and miraculous healings have been received by many who petitioned before the 
Infant Jesus.

History

 The exact origin of the Infant Jesus statue was not truly known, but historical sources 
point to a small 28cm high sculpture of the Holy Child with a bird in his right hand 
carved in around the year 1340. Many other Infant Jesus sculptures were also carved by 
famous masters throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. 

The popularity of the Child Jesus grew in the Baroque period in Spain which may have 
been caused by the visions of St. Teresa of Avila. A number of sculptures made in Spain 
eventually found their way to Prague. These sculptures were made of wax, ivory, and 
bronze and were dressed in garments reflecting the aristocratic fashion of that period.

It is unknown to this date which of those early sculptures that got to Prague was the 
exact origin of the Infant Jesus of Prague. It was speculated that it came from a 
monastery in Bohemia and from there it was obtained by Dona Isabella Manrique who 
gave it as a wedding gift to her daughter Marie Manrique who married a noble of the 
Czech kingdom. Later, the Holy Infant statue was again given to Marie's daughter 
Polyxena as a wedding gift in 1587. In 1628, Lady Polyxena presented the statue to the 
Carmelites at the Church of the Virgin Mary the Victorious in Mala Strana saying, "I am 
giving you what I most esteem of my possessions. Keep the sculpture in reference and 
you will be well off".1 This statue then became known as the Infant Jesus of Prague. It 
stands 47 cm high (includes a 2cm base) and has a long gown around the wax body.

Shortly after 1628, the Saxons and the Swedes took turns to invade Prague and the 
Carmelites had to flee and the veneration of the Holy Infant ceased. It was not until 
1638 that a young priest named Fr. P. Cyril, a Matre Dei, returned to Prague and found 
the Holy Infant statue buried in the ruins of the Lady of Victory church. Fr. Cyril 
cleaned the statue and placed it in the oratory for worship. While he was praying 
before the Infant Jesus, he heard the Infant Jesus say, "Have pity on Me and I will have 
pity on you. Give Me My hands and I will give you peace. The more you honor Me, the 
more I will bless you". 2

The repairing of the statue's hand was a miracle since Fr. Cyril and his peers did not 
have the financial resources nor the know-how to repair it. Through prayer, Fr. Cyril 
asked the Blessed Virgin Mary in several occassions to to provide the necessary funds 
for fixing the Infant statue. The Divine Infant spoke to him again, "Place Me near the 
entrance of the sacristy and you will receive aid".3 Fr. Cyril then did what he was told 
and in a few days time, the statue was fixed by a man who came to the sacristy to offer 
help.

 Since the statue was fixed, a number of miracles had occurred and the word began to 
spread, resulting in a large increase of veneration to the Holy Child. This includes the 
Czech nobles as well. These early miracles were recorded in a book by P. Emerich a St 
Stephano, published in German in 1736 and in Czech in 1749.4

In 1641, an altar was built for the Infant Jesus in the church, and in 1644 a chapel was 
built, but was not completed until 1654. Many nobles of the time had greatly supported 
the Infant Jesus, among them were Lady Polyxena, King Ferdinard (Czech), King 
Charles Gustav(Sweden), and Bernard Ignatius of the Lords of Martinic. It is interesting 
to note that the crown over the Divine Infant's head came from Bernard Ignatius, who 
presented the Infant statue with a little gold crown set with precious stones and jewels 
on January 14, 1651 during a procession that carried the Infant Jesus statue from the 
Lady of Victory church to other Prague churches. The Infant Jesus was solemnly 
coronated on April 4, 1655 by the Archbishop Josef Corta acting for Cardinal Harrach 
III who was sick.

After that period, Prague went through more wars and unrest but the church and the 
Infant Jesus chapel was miraculously protected. In 1776 the altar was rebuilt using 
marble and two huge sculptures of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph were placed 
to the left and right sides of the altar. The Holy Infant was kept in a glass case standing 
on a pedestal engraved with crystals, and surrounding the Infant were twenty angels in 
gold. 

Since then copies of the Infant Jesus were made and distributed throughout European 
churches. The Spanish colonial efforts later brought the Infant Jesus to the Philippines 
and to central America. And since then, the devotion has kept spreading to all parts of 
the world.